John Deere Classic Opening Rounds
Nathan Green shot an 8-under par 63 on Friday to grab the 36-hole lead over Carl Pettersson and Jason Dufner at the John Deere Classic.
Green torched the TPC Deere Run as he shot a bogey-free round with 8 birdies. Of his eight birdies it was the final one of his day that gave him the lead.
There eight players within two shots of Green and another seven within five strokes.
One of the players is Pettersson.
He had a similar round to Green. He vaulted up the leaderboard after eight birdies and no bogeys and was tied with Green until the 18th hole. A bogey on the final hole dropped him out of the lead heading into the weekend.
The John Deere Classic, with the British Open only two weeks away, did not field the deepest field of the year and was highlighted by this year’s Masters champ, Zach Johnson.
But Johnson will not be playing on the weekend.
He was one stroke clear of the projected cut line after a birdie on the 10th then bogeyed the 11th, 12th and 14th holes to eventually shoot an even par 70 and miss the cut by one stroke.
Len Mattiace showed the biggest improvement on day two. Mattiace shot an opening round 83 then came back with a 69 on Friday for a 14 stroke improvement. He still finished 15 strokes off the cut and in 3rd to last place.
